Stabilizer for flying-machines.



G. W. CLINE.

STABILIZER FOR FLYING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED 0503!. I915.

Patented May15, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

avwcm ioz G. w. CLIN E.

STABIL IZER FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 31, I915- Patented May 15, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' mwm amoemto'c as an onnrcn.

enoasn w. oizrnrn, or annaamonneon.

STABILIZER FOR FLYING-MACHINES. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 19117.

Application filed December 1915. Serial No. 69,618.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. CLINE, a

citizen of the United States,.residing at Albany, in the county of Lin and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Stabilizers for Flying- Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.-

My invention relates to flying machines, and particularly to means for stabilizing these machines, and the invention is directed to that class of stabilizers in which ailerons, wing tips or supplemental planes are automatically operated by means of a gravity-actuated member which as the machine tips, inclines the wing tips, ailerons or supplemental planes in a direction to counteract the inclination of the plane itself.

The general object of my invention is the provision of a very simple construction of this character in which the parts are so arranged that a direct and positive action on the supplemental planes or wings is secured and wherein there should be no binding of the parts.

A further object of my invention is to provide that relatively small oscillations of the aeroplanes shall not affect the stabilizing planes.

- Still another object of the invention is the provision of a construction of such form that the operatip mechanism may be either disposed in a vertical plane or in a horizontal' plane.

Other objects will appearin the course of I the followin description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

lgure 1 is a rear view of a flying'machine constructed in accordance with my invention and provided with my improved stabilizers;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the stabilizing mechanism showing one of the stabilizing wings;

Fig. 3 is a rear fragmentary elevation. showing the manner in which the-stabilizers operate;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of a biplane with one of the stabilizers;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail elevation showing the manner in which the gravity actuated carriage and the operating rod move;

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view of th connections between the operating rod and one of the stabilizing planes;

Fig. 8 is a er'spectivedetail view of the collar througli which the operating rod passes;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the connection between the head of the operating rod and the corresponding link;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary View of the lower plane showing my stabilizing mechanism arranged in a horizontal plane;

Fig. 11 is a front view of the construction shown inFig. 10

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view through the tracks showing a modified form of my stabilizer.

While for purposes of illustration 1 have shown my invention as employed upon a bi-plane designated generally A, this biplane being provided with lateral stabilizing planes or ailerons, it is to be understood that my mechanism may be used for the control of ailerons, sliding or pivoted wing tips, warping tips, orany other devices which may be used for the purpose of securing lateral stability. For the purposes of illustration the bi-plane A isshown as being provided on each side of its center withthe stabilizing planes designated 10, each of these planes being pivoted midway of its length as at 11 so that the stabilizers may rock or oscillate in planes parallel to the direction of flight. As illustrated, these stabilizers 10 are disposed between the upper and lower planes 12 and 13.

For the purpose of actuating these stabilizers and shifting them to counteract undue lateral tipping of the aeroplane, I provide below the lowermost plane 13 and at the center of the machine the arcuate track 14. Mounted upon this track and shifting longitudinally thereon is a carriage designated 15 which is relatively heavy so that it will act in some sort as a pendulum. This carriage tit) to bind. The middle of the carriagecarries 1119 a collar 17 which is mounted upon trunnions 19 as illustrated in Fig. 8, these trunnions being rotatably mounted in the carriage. Through this collar 17 passes a rod 18 or lever which is pivoted at its middle, as at 20, upon longitudinally extending beams 21 or upon any other suitable support. The rod 18 has sliding engagement with the collar 17 .ing arms connected by links 26 to the heads '22. These arms 26 are pivotally connected to the depending ends of the bell crank levers 25 and at their inner ends are pivotally connected to the swiveled terminal members 23. The arms 27 of the bell cranks 25 are in turn pivotally connected-to links 28 which are in turn bilizers 10.

It will be seen that inasmuch as the carriage 15 is free to move longitudinally along the curved track 14. that when the aeroplane is on an even keel the carriage will remain in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is, at the middle of the track with the actuating lever 18 vertically disposed. If, however, the aeroplane dips to one side so that the plane is inclined to the horizontal, then the carriage will move along the track as shown in Fig. 5, and if the carriage moves to the left as illustrated in this figure, then the upper part of the lever 18 will move to the ri ht. This will cause the link 26 on the le of the lever 18 to be pulled while .the link 26 on the right of the lever 18 will be pushed. Thus under these circumstances the stabilizing plane 10 on the left hand of Fig. 3 will be shifted to an upwardly and forpivotally connected to the stawardly inclined position while the stabilizing-plane to the right of Fig. 3 will be shifted to an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position. Thus the stabilizer 10 on the depressed end of the aeroplane will exert a lifting force, while the stabilizer on the opposite end will exert a depressing force which will cause the machine to be brought back to an even keel.

The track 14 at its middle between the points a: and w in Fig. 2 is relatively flat so that it will require a positive dipping of one end of the frame in order to cause the car riage to shift alon the track 14. This relative levelling of t e track in the centerfor a distance equal to the length of the carriage- 0 causes the carriage, or weight, as it may termed, to easily and. naturally stand in the tion m-w should not be pronounced but of such slope as to permit of easy progress of the carriage to either side as occasion. re-

quires. vBut at the same time this curvature should not be so slight as to permit sudden movements of the carriage to either side, the idea being to adopt such intermediate curvature or degree of curva-. ture as will not be too steep and such, therefore, as willrequire too great atilting of the machine to move the carriage along the track, and on the other hand, not to use such a sllght curvature as will cause the carriage or weight to move out'of the level portion of the track too easily upon a tilting of the ma chine and thereby move too far away from the center and give a greater adjustment of the planes than necessary.

It will be noted that the lever 18 or actuating member is not pivoted to the carriage but slides through the carriage. Thus the lever 18 will not bind as the carriage moves along the track. It will be readily seen that as the carriage moves away from the center, the lever 18 will shift through the collar 17, and inasmuch as the collar 17 is mounted upon the journals orv gudgeons 19 the collar will rotate as illustrated in Fig. 5 to accommodate itself to any inclination of the lever. a

Particular attention is called to the fact that the mechanism which I have devised is adapted to a condition wherein the track is disposed near the upper plane with the actuating lever moving in a horizontal plane instead of a vertical plane. Thus in-Figs. 10 and 11 I have shown the under side of the upperplane 12 and shown a curved track 29 upon whlch the carriage 30 rolls, this carriage having the rollers 31. This track .29 is horizontal and the carriage carries a rotatable member 32 mounted upon vertically disposed trunnions 33.- As illustrated best in Fig. 11, this sleeve, collar or rotatable member 32 has its trunnions mounted in up with a head 37 corresponding to the head 22 and this in turn is pivotally connected to the llIlkS 38 whlch is connected to the ends of the bell cranks 39. The bell crank levers 39 areconnected at the lateral planes in the manner heretofore described for the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and therefore it is not believed that it is necessary n Figs. 19 and 11 to show the details of th1s connectlon. Itiwill, be obvious now that when the flying machine dips down on one side, the weight of the'carriage 30 'will shift toward the side toward whichv the machine dips and that the actuating lever 35 will be shifted in the manner heretofore described to shift-the stabilizing planes. The construction shown in Figs. 10 and 11 has this advantage, that it is less likely to be shifted by slight movements of the aeroplane, or in other words, is not quite so sensitive as the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Furthermore, it is more compact. It operates, however, on the same principle as the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 12 I show a modified form of mechanism wherein the actuating lever 18 passes through a rotatably mounted fulcrum sleeve or collar supported in suitable brackets or beams 41, the lower end of the lever 18 pivotally engaging the carriage 17 mounted upon tracks 14:". In this form of device the lever 18 will shift through the fulcrum instead of through the carriage, but I believe that the construction shown in the other figures is preferable.

It is reiterated that by the term stabilizers as used in the specification and claims, I intend to include not only the Specific form of stabilizer illustrated, but also ailerons of any form, sliding or pivoted wing tips or warping tips, and that my invention is not limited to the use of stabilizers on lei-planes but that it is adapted to any aeroplane or flying machines of any type.

Having described my invention, what ll claim is. I

1. The combination with a flying machine including lateral stabilizers, of means for automatically operating the stabilizers comprising a curved track extending transversely of the machine, a carriage having wheels engaging said track and movable therealong, a pivotally mounted lever, a collar through which the lever slides, bearings supporting the collar on the carriage for rotation in the plane of the lever, and operative connections between one end of the lever and the stabilizers. j

2. The combination with a flying machine including lateral stabilizers, means for antomatically operating the stabilizers comprising a curved track extending trans versely to the machine, the middle of the track helng 'relativelyflat, a carriage having wheels engaging the said track and movable therealong, the centers of said wheels being spaced from each other a distance equal to the level portion of the track, a pivotally mounted lever, a collar rotatably mounted upon the carriage and through which collar the lever slides, and operative connections between one end of the lever and the stabilizers.

3. The combination with a flying machine including lateral stabilizers, means for automatically operating the stabilizers comprising a curved track extending transversely to the machine and including a pair of upper rails and a pair of lower rails, a carriage having wheels engaging the track and between the upper and lower rails and movable therealong and disposed between the rails, a pivotally mounted lever, a collar rotatably mounted on the carriage for rotation in the plane of the lever and through which collar the lever slidingly passes, and operative connections between the opposite end of the lever and the stabil- 12ers.

a. lhe combination with a flying machine including main planes and stabilizing planes and a supporting carriage disposed below the main planes, means for operating the stabilizing planes comprising a downwardly bowed track having a relatively flat curvature, said track extending transversely of the machine and being mounted upon said supporting carriage, a gravity actuated carriage constituting a weight and movable along the track, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends having its lower end opera tively connected to said last named carriage and its upper end operatively connected to the stabilizing planes, the dlstance between the fulcrum point of said lever and the carriage being less than the radius of the circle upon which said track is described, the path of movement of the lever being curved in the same direction.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afflx my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. CLINE. Witnesses:

VESTA M. STRAT'roN, GLADYS M. GILBERT. Y 

